Since about 1990, many outdoor public shooting ranges in Government-owned facilities and parks in the United States have been temporarily closed due to concerns over lead contamination of the earth and ground water contamination as well. Many of these ranges were poorly designed and lack the Surface Danger Zones required for safe operation. Though they might have existed in this form for many years, encroachment from residential and commercial growth along or near property lines have increased concerns over safety by the general public. Privately owned facilities have largely gone unbothered by recent regulatory changes. However that does not mean that private indoor and/or outdoor ranges are immune from environmental issues.
Many indoor and/or outdoor ranges use granulated rubber having chunks of rubber of about 1 to 2″ by about 1 inch spread out in the area behind the targets to slow down and stop the movement of the speeding bullets fired by shooters that either hit or miss the target(s). The granulated rubber can be in front of a dirt berm or instead of a dirt berm. The result either way is that spent bullets and large fragments of lead get mixed in with the granulated rubber. Also paper, trash and other debris can collect in the target area as well, especially in the outdoors.
To date there has been no easy and low cost way to separate the lead from the rubber effectively. The only patent known to applicant for remediation of contaminated soil and other materials by lead particles is U.S. Pat. No. 7,368,043 issued to Mohanta et al. But this patent requires the use of an electrochemical cell and harsh chemicals, such as ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA). Other methods employ the collection and replacement of the dirt in the target area and the disposal of this dirt as a hazardous material. But collecting and dumping does incorporate a separation step of the lead from the rubber and other non-wanted materials such as paper, foam and cigarette butts. Thus the profitable lead resale is forgone.
There is therefore the need for a procedure to clean up gun ranges which incorporates the ability to separate the rubber and trash from the lead which can bemelted down and reused. It would also be beneficial to the range owner to recoup some, or much of the rubber that had formerly been thrown away due to lead contamination.
Applicant is not the only company in the remediation field. MT2, LLC of Arvada Colo. is engaged in the business of range cleaning, but a reading of their materials indicates that the company's thrust is lead contaminated soil treatment technology to protect the environment by preventing lead from leaving the range using their Ecobond® coating system. Lewis Environmental group offers remediation solutions for various environmental problems. However, they are more focused on abating emergency situations, like oil spills.
There is a need therefore for a low cost recovery system that can be used to remediate the granulated rubber and remove the lead therefrom. Applicant has worked for many years and has finally developed such an apparatus that can easily be moved around from range to range since it can be mounted in a closed van or on a flatbed truck or on a trailer as may be desired. While any of these three transporting modes can be employed to go from range to range, it is strongly suggested that due to the high cost of the various components of the system, that a lockable enclosed space be employed such as a trailer or enclosed truck.
One achievement that applicant has accomplished is the removal of unburned gun powder residue from the range as part of the trash removal, something others can not do and have not done. Other trash items removed that are also combustible include tiny cardboard and paper fragments.